The Note in the Box
by a-little-glimmer
Summary: Dan finally decides to tell Phil how he feels in a note that he leaves in his cereal box, where he is sure Phil will find it. eventual phan. oneshot.


Phil opens his bedroom door and steps into the hallway, careful not to disturb his flatmate who was probably still sleeping. He walks into the kitchen and begins to brew his daily coffee while trying to decide what to have for breakfast, opening up the fridge and scanning the options - it didn't look good. So Phil wanders over to the cupboards, glancing at the state of his coffee, and opens the cabinet.

Here Phil looks at the boxes of cereal lining the bottom shelf. Should he? It would only be a handful, Dan would never know. _I'm not that hungry anyway,_ Phil thinks. _Only in the mood for coffee. Just a little bit of cereal will tide me over till lunch_ , he reasons his way out of the guilt he would've had from eating Dan's cereal. So Phil pulls out the box of Dan's Cheerios and unfolds the top, reaching in to grab a handful of cereal.

But his hand doesn't meet cereal. It runs into a slip of paper. Puzzled, Phil closes his hand around the sheet and pulls it out.

 _Dear Phil,_

 _I knew that you were going to eat my cereal.  
_ _That's how I knew to put this note here last night where you would find it this morning.  
_ _Well, I wanted to put this here for another reason. But that comes later.  
Anyway, on with the note:  
I love you.  
And not in a friendship way. In a real way. A romantic way.  
And I know you love me too.  
But I was never good at the whole 'talking about your feelings thing'.  
So I wrote a note.  
_ _This note. Obviously.  
So, I guess the question is, will you admit to loving me too?  
No, the better question is: will you admit to eating my cereal? _

Phil immediately smiles after reading the words. His heart flutters and he clutches the note close to his chest. _Dan loved him back_. Well, Phil always knew that, didn't he? Deep down, he must've. But he wasn't good at the 'talking about your feelings thing' either, so he allowed himself to stay in the comfortable friendship with Dan.

Then Phil grins as he realizes what Dan did. Now he _has_ to admit he was going to eat Dan's cereal if they were going to start a relationship. So _maybe I won't_ , Phil thinks smugly, his eyes now taking on a mischievous glint.

He replaces the note in the cereal box and puts it back on the shelf (after popping some into his mouth, of course), closes the cabinet, and sits at the table with his freshly brewed coffee. Then he takes out his phone and waits for Dan to wake up.

* * *

Dan paces his bedroom, anxiously checking the time. He could've sworn he heard Phil's door opening and him going downstairs, but maybe it was just his imagination.

Dan had been up for hours now. He had woken in the middle of the night and couldn't fall asleep with the knowledge of what he did the previous night keeping him up. What if he misread Phil? What if Phil actually didn't like him back? Dan dismissed the thought, sure of his and Phil's feelings for each other, and yet the same worry kept coming back.

Dan looked at the clock once again, finally deciding it was time to head into the kitchen. He walks down the stairs, anticipation clouding his mind and changing his pace. "Hey, Phil," Dan greets his housemate, trying to make his voice sound nonchalant. The dark-haired man looks up from his phone. "Hey, Dan," he casually replies before turning back to the screen.

Did Phil get his note? Why wasn't he saying anything? Dan was sure Phil was going to eat his cereal this morning. He purses his lips slightly and moves about the kitchen preparing a small breakfast, popping some bread in the toaster and pouring out a glass of milk. While he waits for the toast, Dan steals a glance at Phil, who was trying to take a sip of coffee while still watching his phone. At this Dan rolls his eyes but smiles, then quietly takes the cereal box out of the cabinet.

He opens up the cardboard and peers inside, stomach sinking as he sees the slip of paper staring back up at him. "Dan? What are you doing?" Phil asks, his voice cutting through the air into Dan's thoughts. "Huh?! Oh, um nothing!" He says quickly, shoving the box back in the cupboard. "I just wanted some cereal, then changed my mind." Dan laughs nervously as he turns away from Phil. "Alright.." Phil replies, a smile playing on his lips.

Dan toast pops up and he takes the slices, then sits at the table with Phil. "Did you eat anything yet?" He asks Phil. "Nah, I'm not really hungry," Phil dismisses the concerns. "Are you sure?" "Yeah, it _might_ be 'cause had a 3am snack," he pretends to think about it as Dan laughs. _How does he always make me laugh?_ Dan thinks, his face falling internally as he thinks his only shot at their relationship might've never happened.

* * *

The rest of the day passes normally, Dan and Phil do some errands, film a gaming video, edit, and at the end of the night they go out to their favorite restaurant. "Oh my gosh, I love that place!" Phil comments as they finally return home. "Me too," Dan laughs at Phil's enthusiasm. "No, really! I needed to go someplace else - it was a long day, so much wooorrk," Phil groans. Dan laughs again. "God, Phil, stop complaining! Just cause we're 'YouTubers' doesn't mean we don't have do work," he says. "I know, I know," Phil rolls eyes eyes then smiles with Dan.

"Alright, I'm going up to my room now," Dan says, turning to leave up the stairs. "If you need me... figure it out and don't bother me," he calls over his shoulder. "Hold on, Dan?" Phil brings Dan's attention back to him. "Before you go, there's something I have to tell you." Phil presses on upon seeing Dan's expectant face: "I'm sorry." "Sorry for what?" "I'm sorry that I ate some of your cereal this morning."

Dan's eyes widen and he steps back. "W-what?" He sputters. Phil smirks a bit. "You heard me." "D-does this mean you got my note?" "Yep." "So you've known the whole day," Dan says incredulously. "Yep!" "Phil Lester, I hate you," Dan laughs, giving Phil a little shove. Their laughter fades away, and then: "You love me," Phil says faintly. "I do," Dan replies in the same soft tone.

"I love you, too."

~fin

A/N: Thanks so much for reading my fanfic! I hope you enjoyed. If you did, please give it a thumbs-up and subscribe to my channel if you want to read more! Lol sorry (why do I make myself laugh?) But seriously, if you liked my little phanfic, please favorite it and review what you think! I love reading them and seeing who likes my work :). Also, sorry for not really posting anything, I've been busy with school, activities, blah blah blah. I've also been working on some other fanfics which I'll hopefully get published soon. Bye guys! ~L


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